More than 23 tons of illegal pesticides seized in Brazil until August

No less than 23 tons of illegal pesticides were seized between January and August 2013 in Brazil. Authorities, police and surveillance, conducted recently, significant seizures of smuggled and counterfeit products in Rio Grande doSul, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Sao Paulo and Parana states.
 
Operacao Ceifa (Harvest Operation) was an example, it triggered recently by the Regional Federal Police in Rio Grande do Sul, through Santa Cruz do Sul Police Department. The operation seized more than 1.5 tons of illegal product s and six people were arrested in the act. They claimed it was created a criminal organization specialized in introducing pesticides smuggled from Uruguay towards Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states.
 
The crimes of production, transportation, purchase, sale and use of smuggled or pirated agrochemical are considered tax evasion crimes, smuggling and embezzlement and also framed in the Environmental Crimes Law (Law #9605, of February 12th 1988) ; smuggling or embezzlement (art. 334 of the Penal Code) and Pesticide Law (Law 7802/89).
 
Sindag (National Union of Defense Products Industry) recommends that farmers purchase pesticides only from dealers, cooperatives and distribution channels accredited by the industry. They should always require legal documents, the invoice and agronomic revenue.
 
Since 2001, when the national campaign to fight illegal pesticides started, more than 450 tons of chemicals were seized and approximately 1,000 people were arrested. One of the main channels is the hotline service, which has received over 18,000 calls. The number is 0800-940-7030, and the call is free. The accusations are passed directly to the police. The hotline does not use caller identifiers and doesn’t ask the person to identify himself or herself – it is completely anonymous.